Friday, February 6, 2015

Inspired by the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) as part of its commitment to supporting classical music education and performance artists throughout the United States and abroad, offers students, emerging and aspiring musicians, as well as the community, the premiere Black Classical Music MasterClass Series. Free opportunities to hear or work one-on-one with world-renowned African American classical musicians to “Bring Color to the Classics!”. Here are the MusicMasters.

First-time ever --- free
MasterClass Series features renowned African American classical musicians in
cities throughout the United States helping to Bring Color to the Classics.

By definition a master
class is a class
given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline. It
is with great pleasure that the Coalition
for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) announces the premiere
of its national music MasterClass Series®featuring renowned African American MusicMasters®conducting the classes, with soprano Angela Renee Simpson serving as the
series Coordinator. Venues include performing arts institutions, Historically
Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUâs), high schools, and other venues
throughout the nation. The sessions are at no cost to the presenters, students,
or attendees with goals to encourage African Americans and others to pursue
classical music and the performing arts as a possible career, inspire attendees
to embrace the art form as a viable option, and to engage students into honing
their musical craft through expert advice.

Symbolic
to the legacy of classical musicians of African heritage, the MasterClass
Series®is scheduled to begin during Black History Month, continuing through
the spring, and being presented in cities including, but not limited to
Atlanta, GA; Salisbury, NC; Detroit, MI; Winston-Salem, NC; and on Long Island,
NY, Simpson announced.The recent
Baltimore, MD MasterClass®,
which kicked off the nation-wide series, was held at Morgan State University with Metropolitan Opera soprano Angela M. Brown serving as the
MusicMaster®. Nearly
fifty students were in attendance. Setting the standard for the upcoming
MasterClasses®, Brown
worked one-on-one with eight of those aspiring students; coaching, vocalizing
and offering solid and valuable learning tools.In addition to the sessions being available to students, patrons of the
arts, and the community, they are listed on the non-profit arts organizationâs website
at www.4caapa.organd are underwritten by CAAPA, helping to substantially
finance the venueâs desire to present top-notch MusicMasters®at no cost.While the target audience includes the overall community and are offered
free-to-the-public, this seasonâs scheduled sessions also include Morehouse College, Winston-Salem State
University and Livingstone College.CAAPAâs Board of Directors Chairperson, Pamela T. Simonsonstated,

âWe are extremely excited to help make an impact on
students and the community throughout the nation thanks to the efforts of
dedicated supporters.â Simonson
is a soprano with the Washington
National Opera. âOur goal is part of CAAPAâs commitment to support classical
music education, create performance opportunities for aspiring musicians and
foster a genuine love for classical music in an underserved communityâ, the New York native and co-founder of the
decade-old organization continued. Simonson, along with Simpson, believes it is important to lean on the
shoulders of seasoned professionals when offering the MasterClasses, which is why CAAPA called on
expert MusicMasters such as George
Shirley, Angela Renee Simpson, Issachah Savage, Angela M. Brown, and Morris Robinson, all expert musicians
in their own right, to facilitate the MasterClasses.

The CAAPA national MasterClass Series®initiative is the first time an African
American arts organization has ever offered a program specifically targeting
the black audience. Contact Simpson at masterclassseries@4caapa.org or the CAAPA office at 301-839-1444 for information
regarding sponsorship, hosting a MasterClass or to serve as a MusicMaster®.